


Palate Cleansing

by Witchtomez



Series: Mysme Halloweek 2018 [5]
Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Mysmehalloweek 2018, Not choi-cest, Post-Mint Eye Saeran, Prompt: sweets, recovering Saeran
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-08-28 10:35:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16721694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Witchtomez/pseuds/Witchtomez
Summary: Contrary to popular belief, there was a lengthy period of time where Saeran didnotcare for sweets





	Palate Cleansing

****

Contrary to popular belief, there was a lengthy period of time where Saeran did _not_ care for sweets.

It was hard to eat during recovery; for the first six months after being rescued from Mint Eye, while undergoing rehab and taking tentative steps towards some semblance of normalcy, the mere scent of anything cloyingly sweet or sugary sent a cold shiver straight to his already sensitive stomach and set off spasms that he struggled to contain.

So it was of little wonder that Saeran often snapped at his brother every time he came bearing peace offerings of candy, cookies, pie and then finally–-milkshakes. Saeran didn’t feel regret at backhanding the thick drinks into the wall…until he saw the dejection welling up in Saeyoung’s eyes. As their relationship was still in the process of repair, Saeran could only turn and bolt back to his room as he tried to outrun the conflicting emotions in vain.

Hours had passed; the day had long since faded into the inky blackness of night, leading the troubled man to assume that he might be able to pop out of his room without much notice.

Instead, he found Saeyoung sitting in the hallway, staring at the wall where the milkshake had splattered.

His stomach lurched painfully, but Saeran steeled himself to walk forward now that he knew time was not going to be an effective solution for this matter. Stopping in front of Saeyoung, he fidgeted awkwardly, unsure of the next step.

“…Is it ever going to be okay…Saeran…?"

Something about the raspy crack in his stronger brother’s voice dropped Saeran to his knees before he realized it.

Saeyoung continued to stare at the wall while Saeran’s fingers clenched and opened, infuriatingly indecisive; he knew this situation was being blown out of proportion, but only because he hadn’t found the words or the courage to explain his revulsion to foods he used to enjoy.

" **It’s not–-!** Not because of you. It’s not because it’s **you** –-it’s…it’s because…”

Saeyoung had swallowed thickly, but gradually turned away from the sticky mess adorning his wall to pay attention. Saeran’s fists balled up where they sat on his thighs before he let out a harsh sigh and flattened the palms against his knees.

“…Saeran…?”

“It was the elixir.”

The temperature seemed to drop a few degrees, a passing shiver tickled at both brothers’ spines; this was **not** a topic Saeran had ever brought up before.

Saeyoung waited patiently as Saeran fought for his composure.

“It was…it always tasted horrible, so we often sweetened it. Tried to…it never worked. It was always just this sickening concoction of syrupy pain and burning but…but we kept taking it…”

There was another pause before Saeyoung slowly inhaled, nodding a bit in understanding.

“I see…that makes sense. I’m so stupid, I should have thought of it befor–-!” Saeran cut him off with a curt glare.

“I didn’t say anything until now. You couldn’t have known.”

“But I should have–-”

“I’m an adult too.”

They fell into another silence, Saeyoung nodding begrudgingly.

“You are…I _know_ you are, Saeran, I just-–!”

Saeran tilted his head up ever so slightly to shift his eyes over to his brother, noting how wild his flustered gesticulations were compared to his much smaller movement.

“…I just…I want to make up for lost time, I guess…since we’re both away from our-–since we’re independent now,’ Saeyoung caught himself, not wanting to open another sore subject on top of the current heavy topic, ’–-I dunno, I just wanted to show you a bunch of awesome things and food so I can…know what you…like now…”

Seeing Saeyoung so awkward and vulnerable despite his usual joking demeanor stirred a tiny bit of courage in Saeran; if his brother could keep going, undeterred by his discomfort, then just _maybe…_

“Your chips.”

The crease in Saeyoung’s brow shifted toward confusion at the abrupt interjection. Saeran held unwavering eye contact–-a rarity up until that point.

“…My..? OH!”

In a flash, Saeyoung was scrambling to his feet, tripping over his strewn laundry before ripping open a cabinet and rifling through for the item in question. Several more parcels tumbled out in his haste and were completely ignored as Saeyoung nearly tore the bag in two while returning to the hallway.

Saeran took a cautious whiff, smelling more butter than honey to his relief. Carefully extracting a small piece, he took a determined breath and set the chip on his tongue. Saeyoung waited with bated breath, eyes darting around for the nearest trash can in case this experiment went poorly for his little brother.

Chewing slowly, Saeran looked down until he had swallowed. To his surprise, the snack had tasted more savory than expected with the buttery flavor holding its own against the honey fairly well. However, the more he could smell the bag, the stronger the sweet scent became and he leaned back on his hands.

“…It’s not awful…but it’s not exactly to my tastes. At least not yet,” Saeran appraised considerately. It was enough; Saeyoung was nearly beaming.

“Hehe! That’s ok…I’m sure we will find something you enjoy even better, like the seaweed flavor or maybe consomme’ flavored!”

Saeran snorted, but a tiny smile pried at his mouth.

“…Maybe…,’ he admitted, climbing to his feet, ‘but for now, let me look at the shopping list; I can’t cook with anything in this house.”

Saeyoung nearly dropped the bag he was holding as Saeran walked past him.

“You can _cook_!?”

Sighing, Saeran shot him a flat look as he searched for a rag and household cleaner.

“Of course I learned, I couldn’t just sit and hope food would appear in front of me.”

As he passed Saeyoung to get to the mess he’d caused hours before, Saeran froze; Saeyoung was practically _radiating_ with pride and awe.

Feeling _incredibly_ uncomfortable with the focus, Saeran nearly threw himself at the stain on the wall as he wiped off as much of the stickiness as he could before attacking it with the cleaning rag.

“Ah? Saeran, you don’t have to do that-–Vanderwood will–-”

“-–He’s really gonna tase you if you keep it up. I heard him testing the batteries the other day after finding that smelly pile of laundry in your closet.”

The blood drained from Saeyoung’s face, finally realizing that the smell he’d gotten used to had disappeared from his room.

“…Let me help.”

.

.

.

The situation between the twins gradually progressed, though not without its ups and downs.

...But it was enough for Saeran to enjoy his birthday cake the following year.


End file.
